I Loved Her First
by Agent Frostbite
Summary: The acoustic guitar is still sitting there in the back of her closet. This one isn't hers. It's her dad's. She can't bring herself to play it, but a prompting from Cade Yeager in the form of a song for his daughter may be just what she needs.


The acoustic guitar is still sitting there in the back of her closet. She can't bring herself to use it yet. Sure, she's got one of her own, and its got its own case, but that one's still in New York, in the back of the closet in her room. This one isn't hers. It's her dad's.

She can't bring herself to play it. _It's ricidulous,_ she thinks, _that it's been 6 years and I still can't play it._ Oh, she takes it out to do regular maintainence on it, but she almost cries for an hour afterward. She won't give it up. She'd die first. Like, properly die for good. She might even be buried with it; she wasn't sure yet.

It'd seen plenty of use. There was always music in the house, or on the ship, or wherever they were. She'd grown up with music, and she knew how to play a guitar by the time she was 9. She'd know how to sing as long as she could remember. It was part of what made any place home.

Her dad could've been a singer if he wanted to be. But what he really loved was playing that guitar. She sang, and he'd play. That's why she couldn't play it. It was just another nail in the coffin, ringing of finality, despite her accepting the fact a long time ago that he was gone. So she took care of it and then buried it back in the closet.

She heard another guitar being played somewhere else. The tune was familiar, but she'd never sang it herself. She knew who it was right away, and when the lyrics started up, that just confirmed it. Nikki Skylar walked through the base, passing a few other 'Bots headed the same way, maybe to do the same thing.

She poked her head into the room and saw exactly what she thought she would. Cade was playing the guitar and singing, and Tessa and Shane were dancing. "I was her number one; She told me so, just so you know, Time changes everything, life must go on, and I'm not gonna stand in your way. I loved her first, I held her first, and a place in my heart will always be hers. From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me, I knew the love of a father runs deep. And I prayed that she'd find you someday, but it's still hard to give her away. I loved her first."

Nikki, leaning against the wall, thinking about her own dad. She thought about the tune he sang to her when she was 5 years old and too young to know what he was singing. Then she thought about the guitar in the back of the closet, the one he used for years and years. She bit her lip and walked off to get it.

She grabbed the case out of the closet, put it on the bed. She opened the dusty case and pulled out the old guitar. She carefully carried it toward the room, and intended to walk straight past it, find a place where she could play without disturbing Cade. But as she walked past, he nodded to her, and she stopped. She hesitently walked in and took a seat. She started playing background notes - it was automatic, though she had no recollection of actually learning the song.

Cade kept singing as Tessa and Shane danced. Nikki played, listening to the words. "I knew the love of a father runs deep. And I prayed that she'd find you someday, but it's still hard to give her away. I loved her first." It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. The lyrics struck home, and the guitar beneath her hands felt like a piece of home, a part of him still with her. It was comforting.

"From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me, I knew the love of a father runs deep. Someday you might know what I'm going through, when a miracle smiles up at you. I loved her first." They both finished off the last notes, and the two stopped dancing. Tessa walked over and hugged her dad.

"Thanks, Daddy," she whispered. He smiled as he hugged her back.

"Anything you need, Tessa, I'm always right here. I love you," he replied.

"Love you too, Dad," she echoed. Shane gave him a grateful smile, and Cade returned it. Cade then looked at Nikki and nodded, still smiling. She returned both the smile and the nod, knowing he knew what it meant to her. She stood and walked out, back to her room. She sat on the bed and looked the guitar over, noting all the marks on it that no amount of buffing would ever remove. She looked at the initals carved into the neck of the guitar. _JS_. Jack Skylar. Dad.

She sighed and looked at the ceiling. She could almost see his smile, could almost hear him saying _"You can do it, Nik."_ She nodded, as if he'd actually said it, and she strummed a few more notes. Then she started signing her own song.

"I know they say you can't go home again, I just had to come back one last time..."


End file.
